YESTERDAY proved a proverbial roller coaster of a day for Bendigo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It started in fantastic fashion with confirmation Bendigo would be equipped with one of the 10 new state-of-the-art tech schools at the heart of the Andrews government’s education plan.
However, just hours later there was a collective groan of disappointment when the federal government revealed the Keech Australia-aligned German manufacturer ThyssenKrupp had missed out on a $50 billion submarine contract.
The technical school, dubbed the Bendigo Innovation Technology Experience, will open in 2018 and focus on providing local students with the very best facilities to study world-class science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses.
The groundbreaking centre, to be located at La Trobe University campus at Flora Hill, will see students from the city’s different schools come together in the one classroom in the pursuit of academic excellence.
The school’s proponents, including local MPs Jacinta Allan and Maree Edwards, say it will be tailor-made to meet Bendigo’s expected growing demand for jobs in the health, engineering and maths sectors.
While many industries struggle, such as the mining and construction sectors, the STEM area is bucking the trend and continuing to grow.
It makes perfect sense to give our youth the best chance, in such a competitive jobs market, to secure gainful employment in the industries where the opportunities still exist.
While yesterday’s announcement from the federal government that it would engage French bidder DCNS to manufacture Australia’s next fleet of submarines was not the news Keech was hoping for, all is not lost.
Keech’s expertise in 3D printing saw it develop a close relationship with competing applicant ThyssenKrupp and there is no reason why it cannot forge the same ties with DCNS.
The exact same benefits of working with Keech that appealed to the Germans will no doubt pique the interest of the French, so there is hope the homegrown company might secure some business yet.
If there is one thing that yesterday’s developments – both positive and negative – reinforced, it is that the city of Bendigo has come an awful long way from the days when farming and mining were the only industries in town.
- Ross Tyson, deputy editor